Fletcher: We Feel The Fans' Pain

Darren Fletcher insists Sunday’s humiliating Manchester derby defeat was as painful for the players as it was for the fans.

The visitors had gone into a 3-0 lead before Fletcher gave the Reds a glimmer of hope nine minutes from time when he pulled a goal back.

But hope turned to despair when City bagged a further three goals in injury-time and ensured bragging rights went to the blue half of the city.

“We realise how much this result has hurt the fans and how they’ll go into work on Monday and get a lot of stick, but the players are hurting just as much. We live in the city too and we’re going to have to deal with it as well,” the Scot told MUTV.

“No-one wants to lose by the margin we did today, but you’ve always got to look at positives and say you can lose by that score or lose 1-0 and it’s still the same amount of points [to lose].

“I said to the lads in the dressing room afterwards that we need to remember how it feels to lose a game like this, but to remember that no medals are handed out now.

"There’s still a long way to go in the season. It’s a bad result, but by no means is the league over. We’ve got to respond and win our next game.”

Fletcher pointed to the sending-off of Jonny Evans just after the break as the game’s big turning point, but recognised that United were somewhat naïve in the way they approached the final part of the encounter.

“We kept trying to win the game when it was conceivably not possible. Maybe we were a bit naïve and should have sat behind the ball and tried not to concede,” he added.

“At the time you’re thinking we’re at Old Trafford and we always want to get the ball down and play. The players haven’t been brought up to sit behind the ball, defend and see games out. But to lose those goals late on was very disappointing.

“The sending-off was the turning point,” continued Fletch.

“Even though we were a goal down I thought we controlled the match in the first half, played the better football and put them under pressure without really creating any real chances.

“To lose a man right at the start of the second half made it a long 45 minutes with ten men against a good side."